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Over the weekend, Ja Morant was once again spotted on an Instagram Live with a gun in his hand, mere months after picking up what became an 8-game suspension for doing the same thing in the middle of the season — ultimately costing him a spot on the All-NBA teams and nearly $40 million on his new contract extension. He was, again, suspended indefinitely by the team as they investigated the matter alongside the league.

After the first incident, Morant apologized and did interviews about how he was in the wrong and was learning his lesson, which meant whatever he said after this latest video was going to be met with plenty of eyerolls. He didn’t help his cause by waiting to release a statement until Tuesday night as the fourth quarter of Game 1 between the Lakers and Nuggets was going on (and after the Draft Lottery earlier in the evening). Morant was at least aware enough to know that his “words may not mean much right now,” committing once again to working on himself.

Morant is correct in noting that very few people are going to take much from his statement, and it’s now on him to show that he’s actually trying to make the changes that clearly didn’t stick after the first time we went through this situation. Earlier in the evening, Adam Silver told ESPN he was “shocked” when he saw the video, with the league still looking to determine if it was what it appeared to be. Morant’s statement certainly seems to confirm that, and with reporting he could face a lengthy suspension for a second incident, he will likely have plenty of time for reflection over the summer and the start of next season.

The Terminator series has been around so long that we’re only six years from where it all began: in grim, robot-ravaged 2029. That doesn’t mean it’s survived because people wanted it to. The first sequel may have been the biggest money-gobbler of 1991, but that’s the last time one of its films was a sensation. The third, released the following decade, did, you know, pretty good. (And it is pretty good!) The last three have all been critical and commercial failures. The franchise could always live on. But if it does it’ll have to do so without its precious original robo-killer.

The Hollywood Reporter has a new profile of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who seems pretty optimistic about being in his mid-70s. “My plan is to live forever,” he says. If so, it sounds like he won’t spend any of his eternal life playing the un-killable titular terminator.

“The franchise is not done. I’m done,” Schwarzenegger declared. “I got the message loud and clear that the world wants to move on with a different theme when it comes to The Terminator. Someone has to come up with a great idea.”

The muscle man-turned-actor cited the series as “largely responsible for my success” (evidently even moreso than Conan the Barbarian/Destroyer). He then broke down his thoughts on each of the series’ films.

“The first three movies were great,” he said. “Number four [Salvation] I was not in because I was governor. Then five [Genisys] and six [Dark Fate] didn’t close the deal as far as I’m concerned. We knew that ahead of time because they were just not well written.”

He’s not wrong. (And again, the threequel is solid!) And even if he did live on indefinitely, it’s still best not to waste one’s time. So while his onetime rival/now friend Sylvester Stallone keeps returning to old gigs, Schwarzenegger will probably just keep reuniting with old friends.

(Via THR and IndieWire)

Last fall, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard shared three new albums: Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava; Laminated Denim; and Changes. Now they’ve announced that they’ll be releasing a double LP album with a predictably wild title: PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.

The album is their 24th record so far. The lead single is “Gila Monster” and it comes with a video done by SPOD. “I wanted to shoot Lord of the Rings 4 but also make a video game, so I mixed both mediums and came up with this majestic journey for truth and power in a cursed world,” SPOD said in a statement. “I mixed 3D animation, modeling & live footage in a 3D video game program to create this marvelous voyage of man & beast. Friend or foe?”

They have residencies coming up this summer.

Watch the video for “Gila Monster” above.

Find the album artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Motor Spirit”
2. “Supercell”
3. “Converge”
4. “Witchcraft”
5. “Gila Monster”
6. “Dragon”
7. “Flamethrower”
8. “Dawn of Eternal Night” feat. Leah Senior (Audiobook, VINYL EXCLUSIVE)

PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation is out 6/16 on KGLW. Find more information here.

Three weeks have passed since Fox News went and canned their biggest star, Tucker Carlson. There’s still no official word on why they did it. Was it part of their pricey settlement with Dominion Voting Systems? His allegedly sexist behavior at work? Some petty nonsense on Rupert Murdoch’s part? Whatever the case, they’ve been hemorrhaging viewers, especially in the once golden primetime slot. And if a new report is to be believed, it might only be the beginning.

A new piece by Variety (in a bit caught by The Daily Beast) delves into Tucker’s attempts to get the next act in his career going, which may involve him surrendering millions so he can move to Twitter. There’s one fascinating aside, though: Tucker vowing to battle Fox News over his contract, which is supposed to be in effect until January of 2025, has reportedly inspired some of the network’s other stars to think about leaving, when the time comes.

Says Variety:

A handful of Fox anchors have reached out to Carlson directly or had their surrogates contact him to say they are eager to join whatever venture he starts on Twitter when their contracts are up, according to sources.

The report, of course, doesn’t name names, so all one can do is make educated guesses. But what could happen is a bunch of stars who helped get Fox News sued — and Dominion isn’t the only company out for their blood — could wind up leaving them in the lurch. But should Fox News suddenly be absent its biggest draws, its older audience, as NBC News’ dark web expert Ben Collins pointed out, might not want to venture to a social media service to get their regular fix of Tucker misinformation.

(Via Variety and The Daily Beast)

On Tuesday night, the San Antonio Spurs emerged as the victors of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery by receiving the No. 1 pick. As such, the Spurs are now in line to select who many call one of the greatest prospects of all-time in French big man Victor Wembanyama. Like most other people, Wembanyama was watching the lottery from a living room and seemed quite excited when it became clear San Antonio had won the top pick. He grinned, clapped, and pumped his fists in celebration alongside friends and family.

Between 1997-1998 and 2018-19, the Spurs made the playoffs every season. Since then, they’ve failed to qualify, earning a Play-In berth in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Alongside other talented young players like Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Devin Vassell, and Tre Jones, Wembanyama will likely look to help snap that playoff drought for San Antonio. He’ll also hope to join all-time great big men Tim Duncan and David Robinson, both of whom were selected first overall by the Spurs, enjoyed decorated careers with the franchise and won multiple titles.

This is a major boon for both sides. San Antonio’s rebuild perhaps lacked that headlining talent, while Wembanyama gets to play for a team with a history of positive player development. Learning under the tutelage of head coach Gregg Popovich for as long as he decides to stay on the sidelines can’t hurt Wembanyama either.

The San Antonio Spurs won the most important NBA Draft Lottery in the last 20 years. On the heels of a season where the team accrued a 22-60 record, San Antonio was one of the teams with the best odds to pick No. 1 overall this year, and on Tuesday night, we learned that the ping pong balls bounced their way.

As a result, the Spurs are — barring something completely insane — going to take Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Draft next month. It’s the kind of franchise-changing event that should help lift San Antonio out of a few lean years, and there’s a personal connection for Wembanyama here, too, as he’s close with Spurs legend Tony Parker.

We’ll wait to see Parker’s reaction to the news, but in the meantime, another ex-Spur is pretty stoked about the development. Right after it was announced that San Antonio got the pick, Manu Ginobili took to Twitter and took an immediate victory lap.

One of Wembanyama’s presumed future teammates is excited, too, as Jeremy Sochan welcomed him to San Antonio, although he did not specify the person he was addressing when he tweeted in French.

Wembanyama will officially become a Spur on June 22 when the 2023 NBA Draft takes place.

The Walkmen announced their reunion last year after a decade-long hiatus. First they shared a couple of New York shows. Then they revealed more gigs for a 12-date run. This time, they’re hitting more locations.

The group will be playing nine concerts, kicking off in Nashville in September and ending in Toronto in October. To go with the tour announcement, member Peter Matthew Bauer shared a statement to explain what the reunion has been like. Read it in full:

“The last few weeks have been an absolute blast.

Honestly, when we decided to get back together to play these shows, we had no idea if anyone would even show up. It’s been an incredible joy seeing all these people out there, playing these shows, getting to run into old friends from all over the world.

There was a review of our first show back that said something really nice — that it felt like ‘time was bending back on itself.’ It really has and it’s been the strangest feeling. We all flew to New York, had dinner at Hamilton’s house with his family and actually did not practice as promised. The next day we played the Stephen Colbert show live on television. I think each of us hold on to playing Letterman as a very important memory. So, to be back at the Ed Sullivan Theater and be playing this song for the first time in ten years with your friends was like an out of body experience.

We are just getting going and I’m not really sure we want it to end. I will say, after being the dummy who I guess broke the band up last time saying something about an ‘extreme hiatus,’ I’m going to avoid saying anything like that again. I will say, what makes it all special is when you don’t know what’s going to happen next and when you can actually wonder if this is the last time you’re ever going to get the chance to do this. Everything feels ragged and lively which is what all of us thought was good about the band in the first place.

So, I don’t know what happens next but I do know these shows are just about the end of what’s happening now. We are headed west across the USA this fall. We’ll go all the way to California and the Pacific Northwest and play cities we haven’t in many years ultimately ending back east. Also, there’s still some tickets available for our UK run, so check the site and grab. We’ve got maybe one or two more in us to announce in the coming weeks. But that is it (I guess?)”

Find the tour dates below.

09/16 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
09/18 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/21 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
09/24 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox
09/26 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
09/29 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10/02 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
10/03 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
10/11 — Toronto, ON @ History

Prior to the start of the Western Conference Finals in Denver between the Nuggets and Lakers, the eyes of the league were focused on ping pong balls being drawn in Chicago to determine the order of the first 14 picks in June’s NBA Draft.

While the Draft Lottery is always an event fans look forward to — particularly fans of teams who had rough seasons — this year’s event brought in even more interest given the stakes. The team landing the No. 1 overall pick would get the right to select Victor Wembanyama, considered the best prospect to enter the league at least since LeBron James — and some argue since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The hype around the 7’3 French star is unbelievable, and where he lands figures to have a seismic impact on the league.

As the lottery played out, it went according to plan for the first nine picks, with the Portland Trail Blazers becoming the first team to move up into the top 4, only further building the tension in the room — with Detroit falling all the way to No. 5. Ultimately, the San Antonio Spurs ended up winning the lottery and the Wembanyama sweepstakes, seeing their franchise trajectory changed with some fortuitous ping pong ball bounces

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Houston Rockets
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Orlando Magic
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago Bulls)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Orleans Pelicans

It will be the third time the Spurs have picked No. 1 overall, where they’ve done very well for themselves, taking a pair of Hall of Fame big men — David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. They’ll hope Wembanyama lives up to the ample hype and joins those two in becoming legendary Spurs.

Charlotte, meanwhile, will have their choice of the rest, with Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller as the two players most view as the second best prospect. Detroit had the toughest night of any team, falling from top-3 odds all the way to fifth, while the Bulls failing to jump up lost their pick to Orlando from the Nikola Vucevic trade.

Last year, NxWorries made a comeback with “Where I Go,” a song they did with HER. It looks like the duo, consisting of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, is not done. on Monday, May 15, they announced an extensive tour for this summer as well as teased new music.

Kicking off next week in Italy, the tour goes through countries in Europe and hits some spots in the United States, including New York and California, at different festivals until finishing at the end of July. It’s their first tour since 2016. The forthcoming song will be titled “Daydreaming,” as seen in the preview link they shared.

Find NxWorries’s tour dates below.

05/25 — Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
05/27 — Brussels, Belgium @ Core Festival
05/28 — London, England @ Cross the Tracks Festival
05/30 — Birmingham, England @ O2 Institute
06/01 — Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Barcelona
06/02 — Paris, France @ We Love Green
06/03 — Aarhus, Denmark @ Northside Festival
06/05 — Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg Ronda
06/08 — Madrid, Spain @ Primavera Sound Madrid
06/09 — Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Sound Portugal
06/11 — Manchester, England @ Parklife Festival
06/24 — New York, NY @ Blue Note Jazz Festival
07/30 — St. Helena, CA @ Blue Note Jazz Festival
07/21 — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia @ Good Vibes Festival
07/23 — Jakarta, Indonesia @ We the Fest
07/28 — Niigata, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

George Santos has had a pretty fun last six months. The New York lawmaker went from a nobody who quietly scored a seat in the House of Representatives to the most famous and most prolific fabulist since the guy who inspired Baron Munchausen. Alas, the ride may be coming to an end.

As per The New York Times, Democratic representative Robert Garcia announced a resolution to vote on whether or not to expel Santos from the chamber.

“Now is an opportunity to hold him accountable,” the California lawmaker said. “The Republicans in the House are actually going to have to go on record and make a decision about if they’re actually going to stand for truth and accountability, or if they’re going to stand with someone that’s clearly a liar.”

Expelling a representative ain’t easy; it requires a two-thirds supermajority. Even if the gambit doesn’t work, it will nonetheless put Republican representatives in a pickle: Should they vote to retain Santos, their decision will be part of the record. The public will know who supported a guy who claimed his mother died in the September 11 attacks when she didn’t.

So get ready because Santos may finally get the boot. Either way, the public will know who stood by a guy indicted on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and lying to the government, and who also lied about being a volleyball star at a college he never attended.

(Via NYT)